So, the concept that we know as “The Cloud” has been around for a few decades, I believe since at least the 1970’s, but it has really become mainstream over the last decade. I remember when working for a new IT Company back in 2006 and was introduced to “The Cloud” as a service to […]

The bane of the small business owner. Are you cook and bottle washer? It is the small business owner’s big problem: they have to do everything! In a recent broadcast on BBC’s radio four on the subject of being self employed, this was one of the topics discussed. It is particularly true for start ups […]

Many small businesses treat their book-keeping and accountancy costs as a nasty overhead. They consider the fact that they have to keep records as a nuisance, something they have to do to please the VAT man, the tax man or Companies House. They may only write their books up once a quarter, if they are […]

Do you feel overwhelmed? Is there too much to do? Are you fed up with the interruptions that stop you moving forward? Does your phone never stop ringing? Is there another e-mail that has come in that you have got to look at? When are you going to be able to do that training? Are […]

In the wild, it pays to blend in with your background: if you are a prey animal doing so prevents you from being killed and eaten; if you are a hunter, it helps you stalk and catch your prey. However, in the jungle of business it the last thing you want is to blend in […]

Well 2018 has arrived. Many of you, like me, made plans at the end of last year for what you wanted to achieve by the end of this year. However, too often come the end of the year we find that we have not achieved what we have planned. Why is that? Often it is due […]

Just a day or two following my last post “Budgeting and your business plan” I was reading an article in Nigel Botterill’s Entrepreneurs Circular which explained how Stuart Lancaster, coach of England’s Rugby Union squad, began his plan for the Rugby Union World Cup, taking place in England in 2015 and climaxing with the […]

Business plans and budgets. We are at the time of year when many businesses are starting to think about their business plans and their budgets. There is often some confusion over the distinction between a business plan and a budget: a business plan sets out the objectives of the business and the actions that it […]

2017 is drawing to a close and the new year is nearly upon us. For the UK taxpayer and small, non incorporated businesses that means tax returns are due. Yes, the date that you have to file your self-assessment tax returns, 31st January, looms. The Tax Man is Waiting! For some this may not be […]

How many businesses fail? According to the Office for National Statistics, one third of all businesses in the UK will fail within the first three years. Other estimates put this figure even higher. It may be thought that, now that the recession is over and that the UK economy is, at last, expanding, business failures […]